Switch
by Manta Rayz
Summary: AU ChloisChlark. There is something more to Chloe's meteorinduced prowess, and upon unconsciously discovering it she has undergone a Switch of bodies. Now she must endure the qualms of replacing her life with that of her deceased cousin's, Lois Lane.


**Title: **Switch

_Prologue – Meteor Freak _

**Summery: **AU Chlark. There is something more to Chloe's meteor-induced prowess, and upon unconsciously discovering it she has undergone a Switch of bodies. Now she must endure the qualms of replacing her life with that of her deceased cousin's, Lois Lane, as she makes a name for herself in the Daily Planet, helps save the world and, worst of all, resorts to sorting out her feelings for Clark Kent all over again.

**Disclaimer:** Chloe Sullivan, Clark Kent, and Lois Lane do not belong to me and I do not intend to gain profit in doing this (though only because it's basically illegal. Humph!) I am simply manipulating my right as a US citizen under the first amendment to otherwise gratifyingly alter and/or misuse the Smallville mythology and characters for my own as well as others' devious pleasures. Bwahahaha!

**Warning:** Major changes—alternate ending of episode 22 season 6 finale Phantom, during the "death" of Chloe Sullivan and the revival of Lois Lane. Can't really tell myself if there is any spoiler to it, but whatever—you decide. Oh, yeah, and this is my first attempt at a Smallville fic, so it might be a bit choppy in some areas. Hopefully not, but who am I to predict the opinions of others? I also have a tendency to produce strange word grouping that may seem incomprehensible, so sorry if I make no sense. I also think its best to warn you that I have no idea where I'm going with this fic.

**Dedications:** To _**Bkwurm1**_, who has written a sensational _Chlark/semi-Chruce_ fic called _Another World_ that I am thoroughly impressed with (and I suggest that if you haven't read it already, or have, either way you must review and commend the author for her talent). And to the lovely _**rh-fntc**_,who seems to share the same love and favoritism that I do for Smallville's beautiful blonde intrepid reporter/heroine—and, seeing as she had dedicated a chapter to me in one of her many popular fics called _Divided Devotions_ (that you also must review and commend), it is only fair that I return the favor! **3**

_**-**_

…

…

'_I'm so… different.'_

Chloe felt as if her thoughts were echoed all across the voluminous alleys and dead ends of the stonework warehouse, and the noise seemed to contribute to her approaching headache. She pressed lithe fingertips against her temple, disregarding the unusual feel of stray hair that brushed her knuckles, the tiny pinch of shapely manicured nails as they delicately kneaded into her sore head.

'_Am I really that _fat_…?' _Was the second impression that she had given herself that evening, but it was certainly not her last. She quickly felt horrible for the remark, and it only added further ill feeling to the intensely sick reaction that stirred around her belly and prolonged from there.

The image was vivid and blatant and yet altogether astonishingly unbelievable, frighteningat the most. She could see herself, dying, lifeblood draining away, peachy cream complexion melting into a miserable bone-white as her lips were tinged a chilling blue. It was like watching it from someone else's eyes, beholding some sick demonstration in which she sees herself in such a petrified state.

Was this the full experience of one whom has officially died? Was finding themselves a spectator of their own lifeless bodies already rotting away a part of the elaborate cycles and currents that accommodated the reaping of ones life, their souls retreating from worthless corpses? It seemed like a cruel prospect, and Chloe scoped the saner side of her mind in hopes of discovering a more reasonable answer to what she was experiencing, if not completely optimistic.

The familiar shooting pain that tugged behind her eyes, the clammy feeling that escaped and oozed through the corners as she watched the murky blood melt into her bright clothing. Without thinking, she pushed away a single tear with the back of her forefinger. It had been that one minor impulse that seemed to have triggered everything.

She glanced at her fingers, a double take, and noticed that they were certainly _not_ the fingers of Chloe Sullivan. Her face fell into a look of mystified astonishment. They were a length not unlike her own, but they were tanner and narrowing, lacking of the curvaceous quality that uniquely belonged to her.

As a strange feeling very akin to dread coursed through the length of her spine, she grabbed the small purse nearby her shriveling identical body, cursing once upon realizing that her compact mirror was not within the ensemble, not really noticing that she was _significantly_ solid for an alleged ghost.

"Sorry," she muttered to her alternate self, the one currently limp before her, as she frisked through its coat. There, in the coat's breast pocket. She eagerly opened the compact.

It wasn't her face that met her.

"Lois?" Chloe hesitated, noticing for the first time that it was not her voice at all, different lips that mouthed the name. Reflecting off the mirror, Lois Lane was staring back, perplexed, astonished, and ultimately frightened.

Chloe turned away from the mirror as it slipped through her fingers like liquid, suddenly forgetting how to blink, to make use of her trembling arms. Hesitantly, stiffly, she looked at the body sprawled on its back. And it was in the exact position, Chloe realized, that Lois had been in which Chloe had initially found her cousin. But it wasn't Lois. In appearance, it looked as if Chloe was observing the flaccid body of her very own identical twin.

The headache and nausea still lingered, intensified even, and as she tried to rouse herself off the floor she could not ignore the fact that it took her every ounce of residual exertion in her body. In spite of her efforts she collapsed, feeling as if her torso carried the weight of anvils, and what horrified her even more was the fact that she was incapable of gaining proper use of her arms and legs. "Lois needs to loose some weight," she stiffly grumbled against the cement flooring, not really thinking, not really sentimental at all under her present state.

_Lois_. Where was Lois? If what she perceived in her compact mirror was true, then she was currently in the possession of Lois' body. But if the vice versa probability remained, did that mean it Lois possessing Chloe's body, dying in it right before her? Maybe she was dreaming, had fainted upon seeing her cousin's still and bleeding form?

Chloe glanced at herself, or the look-alike at the very least, and the flood of horror and realization returned in brimming torrents. "Loe…isth…" she moaned desperately, piteously calling to her irresponsive cousin, noticing with alarm at her awkwardly choppy speech. It took a great effort even to speak, and the words were difficult against her trying tongue. Her entire being felt unfamiliar, as if she was gaining use of them for the first time, as if she wasn't even in her own body. And she wasn't, Chloe reminded herself with despair and difficulty. She was in Lois'.

Her throat felt smoldering, parched, and the feel of it closing up from within her neck was heart-wrenchingly painful. She choked against a sob as the tears slid along her cheeks, her eyes burning against the sweltering sting of its salty moist. She swallowed and, with utter desperation, Chloe screamed against her buckling throat. "_LOIS_…!"

After several more calls and as her voice abandoned her eventually, Chloe dragged herself forward fiercely, using every inch of the few body parts she still controlled to crawl her way towards her Lois-possessed body. She wasn't sure if Lois was even _alive_ in there somewhere, whether her body was a hollow vessel of something that was already long gone or simply Lois clinging to a life, a body, that didn't belong to her.

Chloe positioned herself so that she hovered over Lois like a shield, feeling so sure and yet so awkward as she stared at herself from another's perspective. She didn't care that the body looked like her, disregarded the lifeless quality, because she _knew_ that Lois was in there. She had felt herself, her life, every atom in her being scatter into the air like twinkling golden ash until she was pulled together again in the blink of an eye, and she had _certainly_ felt Lois do the same, both consumed in a brilliant lively aura.

And yet she was no longer in her own body at the moment, instead possessing the body of Lois, and even still the hinting aftereffects of being reborn straight out of death still lingered in Lois' body, and Chloe felt it.

The granite walls that surrounded them began to quiver, crackling and hissing, the thick metal channels gutturally moaning as they were snapped apart like chopsticks, the newly protruding pipelines spewing forth powerful torrents of water. Her tears descended, slipping off of her face and delicately splashing against her bloody peacoat that Lois now wore. The moisture melted into the sordid fabric, lost forever and, to Chloe, the exchange seemed to proceed in a painfully slow motion. She fiercely embraced the Lois-Chloe, every ounce of her love for her childhood friend and cousin contributing to the sudden strength and capability to move properly again.

"Chloe!" The cry was recognizable, yet it was tinged with a tortured woe that seemed both half-expected and startlingly genuine, and even in her current state Chloe could never forget the familiarity of it despite the turmoil that threatened to collapse over her and her cousin.

Her gaze very stiffly turned to the corner that gave way to a buckled entrance, the impulsive move torturous but she ignored it, her eyes full of apprehensive recognition. '_Clark…?'_ The thought of his presence lingering somewhere nearby made her feel an overwhelming, unfathomable relief unlike any other—which, under such current circumstances, was not surprising in the least.

Chloe lay her head back down against the chill of the granite floor, somehow knowing that she was safer now, feeling lightheaded as the fatigue of straining the new body she possessed ate away at her consciousness. Rumble like distant thunder pervaded the empty corridors, and the pathway blocked by chunks of fallen debris, the only means of escape, exploded. The stone remains and thick dust scattered everywhere with the power of the motion and, emerging from it all, a bulky misshapen silhouette, a miracle within the ominous dirt fog.

Because he was here, she let the tormenting lure of sleep devour her. The darkness allowed her the satisfaction of shutting herself out from the pain and bewilderment of it all, for once dead to the world and its qualms—if only for a little while. Right now, it was all she needed.

_My hero… _

The thought echoed against the murk that washed over her mind and vision like a thick wave of black ink, sounding stifled as if it were doused under water, fading like translucent vapor, and soon her senses dulled until they seemed nonexistent. By the time Chloe finally crawled into a significant depth of slumber she could no longer become aware of her own breathing, or the perfectly solid set of arms that embraced her protectively and carried her away, faster than a speeding bullet.

…

…

-

**Whether I am to continue this into a chaptered Smallville fictional story is entirely up to you, reviewer! So feel free to express yourself in a review. Feedback is highly appreciated, as well as constructive critique and criticism. **

**Note: **This was actually an idea I was suppose to suggest to _**rh-fntc**_ for a _Chlark_ fic she wanted to do for her fans but had no plot idea for, but because it was so vivid in my head and so hard to explain in one simple review or email, I was inspired to write it down as a half-oneshot and let her see it for herself. I think it is pretty capable of standing by itself if it wanted to as a drabble in the "What If" department, but I do have ideas that coexist with this that could only be addressed in a chaptered fic. I also permit _**rh-fntc**_ full privileges to use this fic to help with her own Chlark stories, because it was initially the whole point. I'm pretty sure the plot is original and never before done, but the series has existed for 7 years strong! So how should I know?

**Important:**_ The explanation/inspiration of this fic is found below:_

**You see, we all know that it is common knowledge that Clark Kent eventually ends up with Lois Lane in canon. However, there were in fact rumors that many had initially believed Chloe Sullivan to eventually **_become_** Lois Lane—you know, before the whole cousin concept. And Allison Mack herself noted in an interview (found that Chloe's future once Kent takes on the role of Superman was rather debatable, saying that she had no idea what would become of Chloe by then and assuming that there was no way she would be an official ace reporter of the Daily Planet because it might contradict the canon universe, and they would have to write the Superman mythology all over again if they wanted to make it work. Well **_I _**say to hell with that! Hence, the creation of this fic. It is an alternate universe in which Chloe's kryptonite-induced abilities makes her capable of switching bodies instead of ultimately healing and reviving a person back to life—**_seemingly_**. The next chapter **(if they will ever be one)** will reveal the length of her supernatural prowess. And I'm not ashamed to say that I had **_**SO**_** much fun doing this. I'm afraid it's a fangirl habit of mine, tormenting my most favorite fictional characters. Poor Chloe, and poor Lois, they must face my fictional wrath because I love them so damn much. Although I find it pains me slightly to kill off Lois, supposedly. Sniff. Tear. Hits myself. **

I hope that this isn't _too _confusing. And yet if you have questions, again I suggest you express yourself in a review. I don't mind, because I feel as if I haven't exactly explained thoroughly enough. Sigh. Right now, the five 8-ounce cups of coffee is fading out of my system and I'm pretty high/tired, so I'm just gonna sleep…

_-Rayz_


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